“By this point in the night the press of bodies on the main floor was damn near suffocating. Coupled with the intense heat, it was a sweaty affair indeed. Hair flying and riffs flying faster, Cannibal Corpse set a blistering pace for their 90+ minute, 20 song set.”

Matt Hinch reviews the May 31st Toronto stop of the Decibel Magazine Tour, featuring Cannibal Corpse, Napalm Death, Immolation and Beyond Creation. Cannibal Corpse photos by Adam Wills

“Though revisiting Schuldiner’s musical legacy meant the sense of collective loss was strong, the sense of fellowship was stronger. In the end it was less for sadness than a cause for celebration.”

Laura Wiebe reviews the April 28th Toronto performance by Death To All and Anciients. Concert photography by Adam Wills.

Hypocrisy aren’t zombies, but their decade-plus career has spawned fantastic music for the Swedish melodic scene.

In all, Gateways to Eternity makes for a strong introduction to The Solemn Curse, mixing elements of metal’s past and present, and providing hints to the band’s future direction.

I know some diehards may be put off by some of the layered melodies but really this is a true and true sounding old school death metal album that harkens back to the good old days with great looking artwork and solid production in which every instrument can be heard clearly.

Day three of this year’s 70,000 Tons of Metal cruise started off at Grand Turk with fun in the sun and continued into the late hours, with live sets from Metal Church, Helloween, Nile, Immolation, Doro and many, many more

Live review by Adrien Begrand; Live photos by Marc Hansen, Michael Jagla, Ag Babin, and Adrien Begrand.

Day Two, 285 nautical miles southwest of Miami, the fun continues on the 2013 70,000 Tons of Metal cruise. Highlights include Arkona, Anaal Nathrakh, Doro, Kreator, Rage and more.

Live review by Adrien Begrand; Live photos by Marc Hansen, Michael Jagla, Ag Babin, and Adrien Begrand.

After attending Barge to Hell in December, I had absolutely no idea that I’d be returning to Miami some five weeks later to the same port, the same ship, the same crew even, to cover the third annual 70,000 Tons of Metal. But as anyone will tell you, when you have a chance to go on the craziest cruise around, let alone one of the very best metal festivals in the world, you don’t pass it up.

Live review by Adrien Begrand; Live photos by Marc Hansen, Michael Jagla, and Ag Babin.